“Food is like a pharmaceutical compound that affects the brain,” says Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a UCLA professor of neurosurgery and physiological science.   “This raises the exciting possibility that changes in diet are a viable strategy for enhancing cognitive abilities, protecting the brain from damage and counteracting the effects of aging.”  

     Regarding brain nutrition, the omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants are the most extensively studied by modern nutrition scientists. And for good reason -- 

     A deficiency in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) alters the structure and function of brain membranes, and causes many brain disorders.   And a deficiency in antioxidants in the brain means there is no protection against oxidation by free radicals.  

     For many decades, attention surrounding nutrition was always focused on what food can do for the body (that part of the ourselves below the neck).  It is only in recent times though, that nutrition scientists began to see the links between the terrible things that happen inside the head and nutritional deficiency.  

OMEGA 3 FATTY ACIDS 

     After adipose tissue (body fat), the brain is the organ richest in lipids (essential fats), especially omega-3 fatty acids. In fact, you could say that the brain more or less needs to be made of omega-3 fatty acids, and therefore needs a never-ending supply of it. The brain also needs the other essential fat, linoleic acid (LA or omega-6), but in a proper ratio to omega-3. A skewed ratio where there is more omega-6 than omega-3 is counterproductive, even damaging, and has been found to induce both mental and behavioural problems, especially in children and in the ageing population. Western diets are reported to be excessive in omega-6 and deficient in omega-3, with a ratio as bad as 50:1.

     When you’re talking about the structure of the brain, you’re talking about what it is primarily made of.  So when you withhold essential fatty acids to the brain, you slowly alter what the brain is made of, how it develops, and you cause changes in the chemicals inside the brain cell membranes and neurons. It’s tantamount to trying to grow a farm without feeding the crops with the proper fertiliser, water and sunshine; and then feeding them poison. The effects are equally tragic. 

     What are essential fatty acids? These are the fatty acids we cannot live without, that’s why they’re called ESSENTIAL. Unfortunately, our bodies cannot produce them and are only available from the foods we eat. Omega-3 can be found in oily fish, chia seeds, flax seeds, walnuts, hemp oil, soya oil, canola, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, leafy vegetables, sea weed, and kiwi fruit. Food sources rather than from capsule supplements have been found to be better sources of omega-3 with less side effects and less risk of overdosage. Omega-3 oil supplements (in capsule form) can become rancid even without you knowing it, so make sure if you purchase capsules, that you store them in the fridge, and preferably that they were refrigerated in the shop. Rancid omega-3 are a waste of money and time, and may even be bad for you.

     When eating omega-3 rich foods, take care that you eat the freshest food though, as some omega-3 rich foods can also go rancid quite quickly. Consider un-fresh fish and seaweed! Ugh. Even flax-seed, long a reigning king among omega-3 rich food, before the popularity of chia seeds, has been declared cancinogenic (can give you cancer) when rancid. Flax seed begins to oxidise as soon as it's ground and rancidity steps in quite quickly. You need to take it as soon as you grind it.

     Among these, chia has the most stable omega 3, as it also contains powerful antioxidants that prevent the seeds from becoming rancid, and can stay stable if kept in a dark, dry storage up to 1 year. Chia seeds also contain omega 6 with a ratio of 3.3(omega-3):1(omega-6). 

          When ALA deficiency alters brain development, this leads to disturbances in mental and behavioural functions, including visual, emotional and intellectual processes. New studies into brain nutrition have a profound effect on the latest nutritional advise:

EAT OMEGA-3 ESSENTIAL FATS FOR A HEALTHY BRAIN OR ELSE!  

     This will prevent brain abnormalities that lead to mood disorders, behavioural problems, depression, dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Low concentrations of omega-3 are associated with depression (especially in pregnant and nursing women). Studies that look into the cerebrospinal fluid in suicides showed significantly low concentrations of omega-3 in the fluid. 

     When we talk about neurons, we're talking about the very basic building block of the brain and the nervous system. It's what the brain uses to send messages between its parts, and also to the rest of the body to tell its different members how to act and grow.  It is crucial to remember that we cannot grow neurons like we can grow mushrooms. There are even a school of scientific teaching that says that the organisation of brain neurons is almost complete by birth, and completes in childhood. And that’s it. The neurons we have by the age 10 are the neurons we have until we die. Any disturbance of these neurons, an alteration of their connections, an impairment of their structures, will all lead to brain ageing. However, there are new studies out that suggest that this is not true, and that with the right food and training, we can grow new neurons (although never as fast as mushrooms, sadly) or re-train them after damage from accidents or illness, and even during ageing. This amazing concept is called neurogenesis (creation of new neurons), and could be the subject of a series of books, but the low-down is that omega-3 fatty acids would play a VERY big role in the whole process.

     Considering that ‘low fat‘ diet messages have been shouted down the corridors of health for nearly five decades, is it any wonder that a whole generation of aging people, middle aged people, young adults, teens, and children are now suffering from a plethora of brain and behavioural dysfunctions? 

     A lack of essential fatty acids in the brain especially severely affect the frontal cortex and pituitary glands.   

     The frontal cortex is associated with perceptions of pleasure and happiness, attention span, short-term memory tasks, adaptation to new situations, planning and drive (intention and will to achieve or complete a task).  Cerebral functions (functions in the head) quickly deteriorate: the parts of brain related to vision (retina), hearing (inner ear), smell,  taste become less efficient. The frontal cortex is also responsible for choosing between good and bad actions and recognising future consequences of either, and modifying emotions and actions to fit socially acceptable terms. 

     The pituitary isa pea-size gland which packs a lot of muscle in helping control a number of body processes: normal growth, blood pressure, childbirth, breast milk production, sexual functions in men and women, metabolism (the conversion of food into energy), regulation of water balance, regulation of temperature (that’s why women suffering from hot flushes can be helped by taking omega-3). 

     An example of a dysfunction caused by omega-3 insufficiency is that impaired taste and a reduction in feelings of reward means that a person would need more sugar than normal for them to satisfy a sweet tooth, which then leads to blood sugar imbalance or obesity. Another example is frequent unexplained bouts of irritation, rages, and feelings of inadequacy because of the lowered ability to feel happiness and joy.  

NEXT : WATCH OUT FOR PART III: ANTIOXIDANTS IN THE BRAIN